No public caning in Kelantan: JAHEAIK

KOTA BARU: There is no public caning being imposed on lesbian offenders in Kelantan like the one carried out in Terengganu.

State Islamic Affairs and Religious Department (JAHEAIK) director Datuk Che Mohd Rahim Jusoh said there is no such law under the state religious Islamic enactment to cane lesbian offenders.

At the moment, he said lesbian couples are only imposed with fine or jail sentences if they commit musahaqah (sexual intercourse between two women).

He added that the Syariah court has not received any lesbian cases for the past 10 years.

“There is a possibility of lesbian couples still existing in Kelantan but they hide their `relationship’ because they do not want to be caught by the local authorities including JAHEAIK,” he told NSTP when met at his office here.

Under section 15, Kelantan Criminal Syariah Code Enactment (No 2) 1985, a woman who commits musahaqah with another woman can be fined not more than RM500 or jail not exceeding four months or both.

It was learnt that the state religious authority had already amended the enactment that enables caning on lesbian offenders.

Che Mohd Rahim believed that the various pro-active approaches taken by the department over the years have managed to tackle the lesbian activity from spreading into the state.